Not Asleep
by CupcakeLerman
Summary: *formerly Reading FanFictions w/ Nico & Thalia* Thalia is sent on a secret mission by her father. Nico is asked by someone to go on this website. And when one of them reads a story..it's not just a story.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This story is a spinoff of Artemis-and-Athena's "Reading FanFiction with Annabeth and Percy". I loved it, so here's my version. I figured I'd put this up before I put up any of my serious stories, okay? Thanks. Oh yeah. No homo. I don't own anything, :D**

**Chapter 1.**

The tent was right ahead of her. She had sneaked slyly past the other hunters' tents, and was ready to infiltrate-ahem, sneak into- Artemis' tent. Lady Artemis was out fulfilling Moon-ly duties, and was probably watching the young-looking Huntress weave in and out of the trees to sneak a perfect entryway into the tent. Thalia had made it in. She looked for the rectangular object she had to retrieve. It was a silver laptop, and was usually only for Artemis' use, but why not for the lieutenants?

Thalia borrowed the laptop from the tent and stole away from it. She retraced her steps and remembered her secret mission:

"I need you to see if any mortals may be aware of us gods. It seems there is a spark in curiousity, and we may be seen at a vantage point for this," Zeus remarked. He was speaking to his daughter Thalia, who at the moment, had become a secret spy, her very dream. "This is a very important job I'm assigning to you and another demigod will most likely accompany you."

"Who is it father?" Thalia asked thoughtfully. She wanted to know if it was someone she knew. Zeus hid a look of surprise, and said, "That is not important..what I want you to do, is to go on the Internet, and search for any living proof that they know." Zeus paused for a seemingly dramatic effect. "We could all be in danger if you screw this up."

Thalia nodded in response. She turned away, and we're in the present now.

Thalia had tracked all the way back into her tent, and had quickly and furiously opened the silver netbook. Progams started up, and Thalia whirred through them, dealing with her dyslexia as well.

"Oolgeg..." she whispered. A second later, she said, "Google...Still sounds weird." She clicked into a search bar, and wondered what to type. The thought clicked. She typed as best she could. After a few tries and several curses, the search bar glowed with the words "Thalia Grace."

Thalia anxiously awaited the results, but she wasn't the only one.

A certain son of Hades got up from his bed and had decided. He would open the black and ominous package he had recieved earlier. Not as much as recieved, as dropping from the sky and landing in front of him, making a three inch hole in the ground, but not damaging the package itself. He took it back into his cabin, And had been thinking about it ever since. At his desk, where the black package sat, his thoughts began to rise.

Bomb? Present? "Fan Mail?" The third was actually starting to show up at Camp mysteriously. Everyone tried to backtrace it, but it was all unknown.

Nico had the suspense killing him (No pun intended). He ripped the black box apart, and was met with waves of styrofoam. He pushed away the mushy stuff and arrived on a black embroidered pillow and a shadow-gray laptop. _Yay_, he thought. _Just what I wanted for Christmas_. He tossed the pillow aside, but decided to try the laptop out. It was brand new, but it was already set up. He had heard from the souls of the Underworld that it was a cool invention, and that "everyone should try it!". Go figure.

He opened the laptop, and taped onto the screen was a note. In Underlined Calligraphy, or just noodles of lines to Nico, he made out the words:

_Books_.

_Percy Jackson & The Olympians_

_Character Search (A): Nico A._

_Character Search (B): Thalia G._

Read it. -

Okay... He thought. Percy's name was on it. So..maybe he sent the note. Impossible. He was on vacation in Mexico. But my name...along with Thalia's? What time people have on their hands.

He typed in the web address. It brought a white screen of various words he didn't bother reading. He went to the top, where tabs were supposed to be, and clicked "ookBs" which seemed to look like "Books". A list came out. A huge list he couldn't read. So he clicked a Sort by button, the easiest thing to see. "Popularity" was the other option, and clicked it.

From what he could see it was a few titles he had heard about.

Wizards. Nope.

Cats. Yuck.

Sparkly Vampires. Noo.

He came across the sixth line of words. They read to him:

recPy kaoJcsn nda het Oyiplasmn

He clicked it, knowing it was closest enough. And in flooded meaningless words. But suddenly the words had..transformed..into Ancient Greek? _Whooa_, he thought, _Whoever's messing with me made my whole life easier_.

He went to the "Character A" tab, clicked it, and a list of recognizable names appeared.  
_Annabeth C.? Bianca A.? Percy J.? _He scrolled somemore. _Nico A.? _He saw. _I must have stalkers. _He thought.

He followed the directions accordingly, and had come up with hundreds of results. That alone shocked him. He started reading the rest, and was apalled by then.

A/N: Loong, I know. It took FOREVER. to write this. I promise, and I hope, it will turn out better. PS: Any of you think MUNRO CHAMBERS (aka Eli on Degrassi, AKA hottie.) reminds you of Nico di Angelo? Right, me too. Thalia is possibly the equivalent of a scene girl with black hair and blue highlights, right. Yeah, right. Thank you if you read & please...REVIEW! Thanks Cupcake! lmfaoo. gay moment there, huh? -CP

-currently writing Chapter 2, alright? This won't be long, just like 10 chapters (:


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews! It means a lot that you reviewed. As for this, I need a new title. If you want, you may tell me suggestions. I'm going to get started, oh and Golden Raindrops, thanks for the editing "help". Appreciate it. This fan fiction is for fun purposes only, and I obviously don't own the characters. Thank you (:**

**Chapter 2.**

Much to her own surprise, Thalia Grace had typed in her own name into the search bar. She had made it on , and was now anxiously awaiting the results, unaware of what could come at her. Thalia sat on top of her old camping sleeping bag, while the search results began to appear. They all looked like mush to her, as usual. Cursing her dyslexia, she decided to try something else.

Thalia was ready to put her imagination to use. Smirking, she returned to the top search bar and typed rapidly, her fingers leaping across the keyboard.

"Thalia...Gra..ce..," she began, not proud of the fact she used her last name twice. She was lucky she had made it that far.

"Thalia...Grace...Fan-," she whispered. She stopped, and saw that there was already a "suggestion" for her. She stared at the new suggestion,while she listened to a bush rattling angrily outside her tent. Oddly enough, Thalia didn't pay any thought to the noise. The suggestion feature appeared below the search bar, and she clicked on the result that read "Thalia Grace Fan fiction".

The huntress stopped to take a breath and rest her eyes. It seemed as though she didn't even stop to blink from the time that she sneaked into Lady Artemis' tent, to while she was sneaking out and into her own. Slowly, the hunter fell backwards on the sleeping bag she sat atop of. When she had to time to rest, she began to think.

_What if they DO know and all of us half-bloods would be __forced out of the world, and hunted to extinction? Would any of us survive, or just be criticized and abused because we were different?_ She pushed the eerie thought in the back of her head. _No. Even if, I have to be strong for the other Hunters. They look up to me._ She looked up continued her raid on the Internet.

The first result looked promising enough to Thalia. _You always trust __the first,_ she thought. It was indeed what many would call...a "Fan-Made Fiction". To Thalia, it was a white screen with a thousand words and characters jumping out at her, causing her to shut her eyes tight. The noise in the bushes seemed to be audible now, like a muffled cry.

Thalia cautiously opened her eyes, and stared. The entire screen had just transformed itself into legible Ancient Greek to Thalia.

_"Thank the gods, especially you, Hermes_," she whispered loudly.

The story Thalia had once been unable to read was actually readable to her now. Unfortunately, she paid no attention to it. She clicked on the category it was obviously back slashed as...Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

_Percy?_ She thought. _It's odd enough seeing you, but on the Internet? __On a webpage I'd never heard about? Weird._

She peeked out of the corner of her eye, just as a reflex, and immediately notched three arrows. Aiming carefully at the target, she noticed it was a...mortal teenage girl. "Oh...my...gods," the mortal stuttered. "You're...Th-Th-Th..." Thalia, being lieutenant and captain of the Hunt, didn't recognize her, so she was clearly and outsider. The mortal was clearly awestruck, but Thalia was dumbstruck as to how someone knew about them. And how she'd gotten past the carnivorous canines out front, circling the camp.

Thalia quickly put down the arrows and stood up. "My name is Thalia... Grace," wincing as she said her last name. "Are you...here to join the Hunt?" Thalia guessed.

The mortal's response: **THUD.**

She automatically fainted, and Thalia stepped over her halfheartedly. She hurriedly decided to see if any of the Huntresses had noticed Artemis' laptop missing, and peeked outside. She was greeted stridently with screeches. Loud, obnoxious, fan-girl screams.

Thalia was caught off-guard and was wondering how the heck mortals had managed to break temporary camp borders, and why the other Huntresses weren't fixing the situation.

Thalia covered her ears and yelled, "SHUT UP!" Obnoxious screams still rang out, as if a famous person decided to stop and tie his shoe. It seemed they wouldn't stop. Unless...

She stood her ground and lifted her fingers up, and snapped. Concentrating, she tried to manipulate the mist. "I am not a Huntress. You...mortals...have to leave, and forget everything that happen-"

Thalia was cut off rudely by several teenage mortals screaming,

"THALIA! SIGN MY ARM! NO, THALIA, SIGN MY BRACELET! THALIA! SIGN MY..."

The entire group of mortals began fighting over what she would sign, and Thalia just stared awkwardly. She didn't know what to do, sign them or throw them out.

Thalia's rescue aid was none other than Lady Artemis' herself. Trailing behind her was a group of young twelve-year-old huntresses. Artemis glanced up boringly. "Sigh...No mortal not registered in the Hunt is allowed to witness the Hunt," she plainly acknowledged. The young goddess lifted her hand, and all the screaming fan-girls fainted, like the one in Thalia's tent.

Thalia gasped. _The laptop! _she remembered. She scurried into her tent, and retrieved the laptop. "_There's no way I can sneak this back in. I'll just say...I'm borrowing it," _Thalia whispered to herself. "And what are you doing...with my laptop? Thalia turned around to face Artemis, and then stood up valiantly. "I was...borrowing it. Sorry I didn't tell you," Thalia calmly said.

Artemis' annoyed expression disappeared. She sighed loudly and audibly. "Very well, but right now, we should be dealing with the mortals situation. Hurry along now!" Artemis' waved Thalia out of the tent, and Thalia dropped her laptop.

* * *

Nico di Angelo was waiting until he could control his breath, for he just witnessed more than a thousand girls scream about him, who at first "weren't interested in him" and then "fell in love" with him. It was all people he didn't know or had heard about, and ever since the Titan War had ended, he had only **one **known date. And it was a pity date, so it didn't count.

Nico nervously stood up and began to pace. He paced vibrantly, taking long strides and getting the thoughts registered in his head. _I can't have fangirls. I mean, no one at camp even talks to me. Well, minus that one girl...and that daughter of Apollo..._The thought breezed him. _Oh my gods, I do have fangirls! They probably just hide it from me, then, one day they'll come at me. That will be the day that I die._

Nico stopped pacing. He remembered that he was obviously being instructed to do something by the writer of the note. He sat back down on his bed, and placed the laptop on his lap gingerly, as if he still felt it _was _a bomb. The demigod continued to read the current fan fiction he was reading, eliquently titled "_My Love for a Son of Hades"_. Nico shuddered at the thought that someone would actually write something like that.

He quickly scanned the fiction piece, and after he was done with over twelve chapters of utter **romance**, he took a break. _I have officially come to the conclusion that I am being stalked on the Internet. _Then, a peculiar thought came to him. _What if I'm not the only one being stalked? _He looked out the window to see many different campers lining up for dinner. For once, he felt like skipping dinner, to avoid being talked about, and the new-found fangirls. _I saw the names of all my friends, and even some of the gods, on that list. Maybe they know. Maybe...they know our secret. Our million-year-old secret._ He pondered this, even while the horn signaling dinner rang throughout camp. This was just too big of a breakthrough for anyone to put off aside for hunger purposes.

He closed the fan fiction at the part where Nico and another character were making out, and intended to get some answers. But dutifully, he was still on the Character selection page he had come across after he searched his and Thalia's names. He figured that he would read one, just for the fun of it, and because it was now a part of his research to see if the mortals knew.

The new fan fiction he was reading was called "_Forbidden Love"** _and had the main characters as "Nico A." and "Thalia G." Nico shrugged and continued to read to his comfortable language of Ancient Greek. Little did Nico know that usually, the two main characters stated before the story, are usually paired together.

But he did discover that a few seconds later. He sat open-mouthed, gasping, and muttering, "_Oh my gods..." _repeatedly. "_Oh my gods, oh my gods, oh. my. gods," _he whispered. For saying that many curses, he could be struck by lightning by Zeus himself. But Nico would be too astonished by the story he just read. Soon, he was _dying _(no pun intended again) to know what would happen next. Would the Thalia Grace in this story "glance into Nico's dark eyes of wonder, and have the strangest urge to kiss him"? Or would this Nico di Angelo "have the strangest urge to have Thalia in his bed"? It disgusted Nico, and he bet if he showed this to anyone at camp, they'd either gag with him or convince Nico to go on a date with Thalia.

But the weirdest part to him wasn't the fact that he _had just _discovered that someone knew about them, but the fact that...he felt that someone was now watching him.

**A/N: Yes! It's done for now. But I assure you, they aren't just going to sit there and watch as someone controls them, they're going to do something about it. It was weird writing the last part, on account that I sounded like I was the stalker watching him. Don't we all?**

**This all came to me last night, and I will be putting this story on hold for a few days so I can put up my other story with all the characters and Percy is involved. I'm really excited for this one. As always, please Review and tell me what you think! -CP**

*** The title "Forbidden Love" is not mine. If your fan fiction is named this, this is all purely coincidental and I am not basing anything off of your alleged fan fiction, thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you again for the cool reviews(: So, sadly I cannot update ****on weekends, so I will be back Tuesday with a new chapter and my new ****story. Monday I have to go somewhere. **

**girl-plus-boy-equals-soy: Thank you! Means a lot :D  
****MidnightRose24: Thanks :D The ? isn't supposed to be in the quote, ****cause the quote isn't a question. He's asking himself the question, ****while quoting something. Sorry it's misunderstood.  
****Artemis-and-Athena: Hai! So your story is pretty awesome too. XD ****Thanks for reading it. And yeah, I put it specifically in 3rd person ****because it's really annoying switching POV.  
****And to all new reviewers: I LOVE YOU!**

**Thanks for reviewing! On with the show:**

**Chapter 3.**

The feeling last night that Nico felt, the feeling he was being watched by someone not a ghost or spirit, had left him nervously looking over his shoulder and eating his meals quietly, without bothering anyone.

Days past. Those days were like needles pricking his skin and making him bleed from the suspense occurring in his life. Ever since he had discovered the website, he spent his nights alone, in a dark, secluded cabin. He had skipped dinner more than once, and had definitely ditched the "campfire sing-along". _Pfft_, he'd say. _Weenies_. He would only come to dinner to steal a bowl of soup, which was actually the only thing he ate for the past couple days.

His days on the website had also brought no sleep to Nico. He slept at three in the morning, and had to wake up at seven in the morning. The once-disappearing circles around his eyes began to get darker, and soon, he also began to drag himself everywhere. It took all his energy to get from the mess hall, all the way to an unnecessary little archery top of that, he grew a little...paranoid. Like a real son of Hades would. He began to run away whenever he heard girls coming towards him or in his direction. To someone who didn't know what was going on with Nico, he looked like a little kid hyped up by pixie sticks and afraid of "cooties".

Percy and Annabeth didn't know what was going on with Nico. They were the only ones that talked to him, besides all the other people who left or died. One day, about a week after Nico's obsession rose, Percy bravely approached the Hades' table at breakfast. He didn't want Nico to have a panic attack and run away from him, so Annabeth stood behind Nico, preventing escape.

As Percy appeared in front of the Hades' table, Nico absentmindedly looked up, and was in utter shock. He almost choked on the soup he was slurping.

"Hey there...Nico. How you been?" Percy asked cautiously.

Nico sensed he was trapped, so he decided to answer the questions asked. He coldly slurped his soup. "Great," he pretended.

Nico thought of his options. _I should play the happy card of this __game,_ he thought. _I mean, I can't tell anyone, especially Percy, that __I spend my nights reading what little insane twelve-year-olds put out __on a dumb-old website._ **(A/N: No offense intended, sorry if it offended ****you!)**

Nico put on the best smile he could render and continued, "I've actually thought a lot more positive these days, and that's good, cause you always got to be positive," he said. He went back to eating his soup, but spied Percy suspiciously while he was doing so.

Percy had a look of confusion. "Nico...You're not yourself. You're all...happy now," he said. He left out the part about the pixie sticks and cooties.

"Yup. I think it's better to be a different Nico, y'know what I'm saying?" He played. Percy looked at him, and he saw Annabeth with a distraught look on her face.

"Nico...maybe you have something going on in your life and you don't want to talk about it. Maybe...you miss Bianca, or you miss hitting stuff, but I assure you, Nico, you'll get back at it," Percy said, assuring him and himself.

Nico winced at the thought of Bianca, but, being the good actor that he is, continued slurping and talking.

"I assure you, Percy, that I'm fine," Nico said.

Percy looked at him. "No you're not," he said defiantly.

Nico dropped his spoon, while maintaining his "happy smile". "Yes, I am."

"Nico, people think you're on crack here!" Percy shouted. He had stood up from the table, and Nico was getting up too.

"Well I think those people are hooked on LSD, for all I care!" Nico yelled. He got out of his seat, grabbed his soup, and left the mess hall. Everyone was staring, and as soon as he left, they gossiped and whispered about what had just happened.

Percy was frozen in his spot, his hands leaning on the table. Sighing, he sat down. Annabeth sat in front of him.

"Face it, Annabeth," he said. "Nico's on crack."

"Percy! He is not," Annabeth told him.

Percy looked at Annabeth questioningly. She sighed and left the table.

Nico had stormed into his cabin and set the soup on his desk. He took the fluffy pillow that came in the package and threw it off his bed. He looked questioningly at the roof of his cabin, reflecting on what just happened.

_Everyone now thinks I'm on crack, just because I ditch sing along, and I eat soup. I would tell everyone about the stories on this website, _he thought. He began to stand up and walk over to the laptop on his desk. _But, maybe I should tell them later, after I finish Chapter 6. _He opened the laptop and began reading with excitement.

At dinner, Nico had decided to show up. Inside he was reeling from he drama in the last fan fiction he read, and had overall past the fact that someone was watching.

He sat down at his table, and everyone stared at Nico. They were all wondering what had happened early at breakfast, and where he had gone during archery, sparing, and lunch. Nico calmly ignored them, and went back at the soup he got. Another reason he got soup: He didn't have to get up and give a sacrifice at the fire, since it would only doused it. But of course, he always threw in the best grapes for whatever god cared for it.

This time, Percy and Annabeth wanted an answer. But there was a special announcement that maybe even Nico might enjoy. "Listen up," announced Chiron, standing in was supposed to be the front of the mess hall."We're hosting the Hunters of Artemis again this month! Lady Artemis has very important news regarding our well-being. They will be arriving tomorrow, so perk up and wipe the looks off your face!" He trotted off to the Big House. The campers were smug about seeing the girl Hunters again. They'd only just beat the campers at Capture the Flag again.

Nico sighed. The only thing the Hunters brought to Nico was sad, depressing memories of the sister he once had, Bianca. He remembered her smile, and he also remembered the period in his life where all the thought about was seeking revenge against the Hunters and Percy. He'd gotten over it, but he still didn't like the Hunters very much. He only enjoyed Thalia's company, because they both had the death-glares and the dark aura.

Nico finished his soup, and thought about Thalia again. _It will be good seeing her again, I mean, she's always been a nice person. And I think I see her in a new light._ He walked out of the mess hall earlier, and went into his cabin. He didn't bother taking off his shoes, he just trudged towards the laptop and being doing his new hobby: reading.

* * *

_That was the fifth mortal we had to temporarily tranquilize, and the tenth hellhound we had to shoot down! Why is the mist not doing it's job, and why can the mortals see us? _Thalia was questioning these things, while she got her eleventh hellhound pouncing towards her. Three shots from her arrow did the trick, and the hellhound exploded in a grainy monster dust. Thalia was standing in the circle of Hunters surrounding the camp, and was along the twenty-nine hunters shooting the monsters coming and tranquilizing the mortals that came. The oncoming monsters and mortals seemed to dwindle in occurrence, and the Hunters finally had the chance to breathe and rest.

Thalia walked towards Lady Artemis after the victory. "Lady Artemis?" she asked, "H-How did the mortals see us? And how can these monsters get through the border of our camp?" she said questioningly. She looked down at the monster dust around her, and looked at the sleeping mortals.

"Thalia, I don't know for certain," the goddess said. She put her hand on Thalia's shoulder like a mother should, even if Artemis _looked _like she was twelve, and said, "But what is certain is that we need to bring you and the other Hunters to Camp Half-Blood." Turning, she shouted for the other Hunters' attention. "Listen up! I will send Chiron an Iris message, and we will be setting course for Camp Half-Blood! I have to leave you there until we can get this problem fixed," she shouted. After a lot of groans were heard, she turned back towards Thalia. "As for you...you may keep the laptop and do whatever your father has assigned you do, but I hope you use it _wisely," _she said. The young twelve-year-old goddess turned, and entered her tent.

Thalia had never mentioned that her father Zeus had told her of her secret mission. She shrugged, and continued her walk towards her tent. Once inside, she didn't have a chance to look at the website she had found, because she was too busy packing for Camp Half-Blood. Thalia was excited; she hadn't seen her old friends since the Titan War had ended. She was happy she'd see Annabeth, Percy, Grover, Nico, and Chiron again. They were all extended family.

But one thought kept tugging at her head. The thought of the mortals knowing, and the fact that the Mist was somewhat decreasing. She didn't push the thought out of her head, instead, she kept thinking of possible explanations while the Hunters began trekking the forests on their way to Camp Half-Blood.

**A/N: So here's Chapter 3. I didn't want to put this up yet, but you guys begged, so maybe I'll finish this (it will be a little over 10 or 15 chapters, but we're moving faster here already) and then I'll post my other story about Percy. I'll be back on Tuesday, with Chapter 4. Thank you for reading, and I hope you liked it. I unexpectedly put Nico's part longer, and for once, Thalia's was only short. Sorry 'bout that. Okay, bye (: -CP**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N is down there :)**

**Chapter 4.**

The hunters arrived two days after Chiron announced their arrival. The camp was again buzzing with excitement, but only because they were getting ready for another _special_ Capture the Flag. This time, they were inspiring to win once and for all against the notorious Hunters.

Thalia walked across the camp border, and looked out onto the little camp. It had grown a lot in the past years, and she was excited to be back. She glanced towards the Big House, and saw three familiar figures walking towards them, two of them hand-in-hand.

She walked over to where they were, leaving the Hunters still gawking at the new border patrol, Peleus.

"Thalia!" yelled the two teenagers. They ran the distance between them and tackled Thalia into a hug. "Oof!" Thalia said. "Hey, Percy and Annabeth! You guys good?" she asked. Percy and Annabeth smiled at the Huntress. "We're cool," Percy replied, just as Chiron galloped towards the welcoming party.

"Welcome back, Thalia. How was the journey here?" Chiron asked politely. Thalia smiled, and replied, "Great. Few ups and downs, but it was okay, all-in-all."

"Good," he said. He trotted over to the Hunters. "Welcome, Hunters of Artemis. We hope everything goes swimmingly while you stay here. Any questions, come to me," he announced. The hunters willingly followed Chiron as he galloped away, and disappeared behind the Big House.

Thalia glanced back at her friends. They had an uneasy look on their face. "Are you _sure_ you guys are okay?" she asked. She remembered the oncoming threat that the mortals might know, and she decided to warily ask about it.

They seemed deep in thought, as to how they should answer this question. They finally replied worriedly, "It's Nico," they said simultaneously.

Thalia wrinkled her brow in question. _Nico?_ She thought. _Not the answer I was looking for…but alright._ "Nico's been acting all odd the past weeks or so," Percy leaned in with Annabeth, so no one could hear inside the little circle. "He runs away from girls, he stays in his cabin, _especially _at sing alongs, and he seems to be getting _darker_ every day, if that's even possible," Percy noted.

Thalia's worried expression cleared up. "Oh, that's just Nico. I mean, maybe he's going through a tough time in the Underworld…or maybe it's puberty or something," she said clearly.

Percy and Annabeth stood up straight. "Maybe she's right, maybe we shouldn't bother him. Just let him be," Annabeth said. "But… I need you, Thalia, to spy on him."

Glancing back, Thalia was confused. "What?" she asked.

Percy had a look on his face, like he was deep in thought. "Think about it, Thals," she said convincingly, "I bet he doesn't suspect that _you_ suspect that he's sick or something, so maybe, he'll open up to you and hopefully, we'll get his puberty-thing solved! It's a plan worthy of Athena."

Thalia nodded in response. If he could open up, maybe we'd get some big secret out of him…The three teenagers sauntered off towards the Big House, with Annabeth talking ideas and strategies, Percy being dragged along by Annabeth, and Thalia thinking about the situation. At one point, she remembered the events from the past couple days, and wondered if Nico's condition was _because _of something Thalia already knew. She shrugged it off, and pushed open the doors of the Big House.

Meanwhile, Nico had once again locked himself in his cabin. He had the most crazed obsession, and decided to continue his reading, until he had read _every single fanfiction._ He only fantasized about the ones under "Percy Jackson and the Olympians," and the ones where he and Thalia fall in deep love for each other.

It was early afternoon, and after five consecutive days locked inside his cabin, he winced at the sun shining on his doorstep. He trudged towards the Big House, expecting to see Thalia, but he wanted to keep in character. He walked slowly into the Big House, ignoring some of the looks people gave him. He sat down on the wooden floor, and waited.

After what was two minutes, but twenty hours to Nico, he got up and sprinted as fast as he could, out of the heavily-lighted building. He didn't stop until he had passed the entrance to the forest, and had run into the hazy figure of a Hunter.

Nico held in the girlish scream that almost escaped out of his mouth. He cupped his hands on his mouth, and turned around, towards the figure he ran into. It was the _first _and _last _person he wanted to meet.

Thalia helped herself up, after being hit by a running man. "I'm so sorry," she said, helping Nico up. She knew it was Nico, and her mission was about to begin. Operation: Get the dirt on Nico.

As Thalia brushed the dirt off of Nico, he couldn't help but blush the deepest crimson red. Thalia looked up, and Nico's fan-fiction attitude kicked in. "Thalia…uhm, I'm sorry. For running into…you," he said. Thalia smiled, playing the role Annabeth led her to play. "It's alright; it was my fault for standing there." She stopped brushing dirt off of Nico, and stared at him.

Thalia was pretending to blush, while Nico held in the urge to hug her. Somewhere in the corner of his brain, he thought it was non-Nico-like, and he didn't want her freaking out.

An awkward tension silence broke in while Nico stared at Thalia. It was weird how he saw her differently now. "Thalia…I-"Nico began to say, but was interrupted by the screeching sound of giant worm barreling towards the two. Thalia had _just _remembered that the forest was heavily stocked with fierce monsters, some straight from the Underworld.

For a moment, a mix of the real Nico and fan-fiction world Nico took him over. Before Thalia could even reach to tap her bracelet that turned into a shield, Nico jumped forward and ran forcefully towards the giant worm-looking thing. He quickly grabbed his Stygian-iron sword, and hacked at the giant beast until it exploded after awhile.

Before Thalia could ask, Nico ran back towards her, worried that she'd gotten hurt. "Are you alright?" he asked with genuine concern. "I'm fine," Thalia said, "but why…" Nico was panting, but he didn't have any injury for fighting the beast. He was tired because this was the most exercise he had gotten all week. He fought the urge to pass out dramatically, and forced Thalia to sit. His back slid down the bark of the tree he was leaning on, and he took a couple breaths.

"Nico, are you sure you're okay?" Thalia said. Nico stared at her eyes. "You have pretty eyes, y'know," he said. Thalia forced herself to blush, since she didn't want to flunk the mission. "Can we…talk? Here?" Nico asked. _He isn't the little boy anymore_, Thalia thought. She smiled, and they began a random conversation.

Under the influence of the supposed-Nico character in the stories he read, he got to know more about Thalia then supposedly anyone knew. They sat there for hours, until dinner was starting, and was on the verge of ending.

Nico stood up and held a hand toward Thalia. "Let's go."

Thalia got up, and replied, "Lets."

They got up and walked into the mess hall separately, with wide grins on their face.

**A/N: This is longer than I thought it would be. And I'm very sorry I didn't put this up yesterday, I was watching the movie "My One and Only". That was a pretty good movie, and it took me three hours to watch x) So I apologize.**

**The next chapter will hopefully be up tomorrow, and once again, I'm so sorry I wasn't here yesterday.**

**Oh, and here are two fanfictions that I am reading at the moment, and they're so amazingly good.**

'_**Till Hell Starts to Freeze**_** by thePhonyOversized**

**& A Kingdom Hearts One!**

_**Masquerade **_**by x. (I forgot the username.)**

**Son of a Smexthy Banana, I'll see you tomorrow(: Review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N is below. Any of you readers know the song "Exhibition (Epoison) by Falling Up? Well, congratulate yourself for having good music taste. It plays a good role in this story, now called "Not Asleep", and you'll see why it's called that. PS: I apologize for the asterisks (*) The notes are at the bottom.**

**Chapter 5. **

It was a week after the Hunters had arrived at Camp Half-Blood. And ever since that night where the mystical Huntress and the dubious son-of-Hades had begun to communicate with each other deep inside that forest, they were inseparable. Nico's behavior also improved. His reading of those lunatic fan fictions decreased. He only read this one fan fiction religiously, and because of that, he had begun to return to normal. But a hint of feelings for Thalia still lingered in him.

Thalia couldn't help but feel disgusted at Nico. Sure, they had a lot in common, but the only thing he was useful for was for bringing the dead back to life, and that wasn't all that fun.

But the two were inseparable, like Siamese twins. They would spend most of their time talking to each other in the forest, both with different views on their situation. Thalia was forced into doing it, but as days past, she looked forward to talking with him. Nico just couldn't hold in the fact that he had been hanging out with his dream friend. He even put on a hint of cologne-just a hint, he knew Thalia didn't like cologne all that much. He really cared about Thalia's opinion.

In the week that Nico and Thalia became instant friends, they not only talked, but they also played games together, sometimes by themselves, and sometimes with Percy and Annabeth tagging along. One afternoon, the game was called "I Love Cookies". There were two obvious groups-Percy and Annabeth, Thalia and Nico. The object of the game was each group dances to the lyrics "I Like Cookies, yes I do. I Like Cookies, how about you!" individually as a group. A group had to do their dance moves synchronized. The dance moves had to be different each round, and you lost if your partner doesn't do the right move, or you and your partner don't have a dance move.

In the first round, Nico and Thalia went first. They stood up from the grass they sat on in front of the Big House, and looked around to see if anyone-in particular, Chiron- was looking. They had a whole artillery laid out, with planned movements, and easy-to-memorize tricks. They began the game.

"I Like Cookies, Yes I Do! I Like Cookies, How About You?" Thalia and Nico, yelling together. They were pumping their right fist in the air, completely in-sync. At the end of their song, they pointed at Annabeth and Percy, standing in front of them.

Both groups were a determined as ever. Shouting, Annabeth and Percy danced an elaborate dance. "I LIKE COOKIES YES I DO! I LIKE COOKIES HOW ABOUT YOU?" Their dance consisted of spins, hip movements, and even coordinated at the teenagers in front of them, they finished their dance. Nico and Thalia smirked, as if they saw this coming. They grabbed hands, and began skipping and singing like the wild people they were. "WELL..I LIKE COOKIES YES I DO! I LIKE COOKIES, HOW ABOUT YOU!" They pointed sarcastically at their opponents, and Percy and Annabeth were in shock.

But of course, being the determined people they were, they didn't stop. They continued their routines, and thought they had a chance of ending the game faster if they tripped up Nico, the clumsy one. To their surprise, the game lasted for nearly four hours. By the time Percy and Annabeth forfeited, the sun was setting, and a group of demigods...and Chiron...had gathered around them, chanting for the dance-off to continue and placing bets. Some of the demigods cheered for the winners Thalia and Nico, and there were several yells.

Thalia was overjoyed that they won, and took Nico and hugged him quickly. She never forgot that she was a Hunter, and she never forgot that she was on a mission. Nico blushed wildly, and Thalia turned away. She hid a smirk, and Annabeth winked at her. _She is geewd.* _Annabeth suggested.

Besides talking and playing games, they played clever pranks on other cabins, mostly the Poseidon/Athena party. Thalia and Nico were squished and squeezed in inappropriate places in Percy's cramped little closet with a video camera rolling. It was three days after Thalia arrived, and this was their fourth prank out of a series of ten. They planned earlier that Nico would hold a video camera, hoping to catch Percy and Annabeth cuddling and embarrassing themselves.

The closet raiders got MORE than the bargained for, and decided to face the walls surrounding the closet, their backs to each other. They quietly and silently decided they would just wait till they left, and as every minute passed, they wanted the two extreme lovebirds outside the closet to just quit doing what they were doing and leave.

There they sat, waiting for the sounds outside their hiding spot to diminish and completely disappear, signaling Percy and Annabeth's leave. Nico realized how close he was to Thalia, and had thought about pulling a move on her. He also realized they were in a closet_. Not __romantic enough_, he said to himself. He sighed, and let Thalia sleep peacefully, leaning a little on his back.

But Thalia was unexpectedly faking the whole scene, just as she was faking her relationship with Nico a little. But as she was lying against the person she was thinking about, she remembered all the other pranks she pulled on the rest of the camp with him. Beginning to realize she was truly happy, Thalia remembered the night before as she sat inside Percy's closet next to the Son of Hades.

* * *

Thalia sat cross-legged on her bed, holding a familiar laptop and placing it on her lap. She opened the silver laptop again, and saw that either the "ON" button was screwed, or she had wasted the battery by not turning off the computer. Sighing loudly, she laid it down on the floor next to her bed, and began to think...to reminisce.

She remembered the first night, when the two demigod friends walked into the mess hall with wide and stupid grins plastered on their face. During the time it happened, she had faked the whole act, on code with Annabeth's mission. But during her short time with Nico, she thought now that it was pure and real happiness. Like the kind you're supposed to get after you eat a Hershey's kiss chocolate candy.

Thalia thought of this._ Happiness, _she thought. Her eyes widened, the sudden realization drowning her. She realized that...she hadn't been that happy since...

...Since the day she met the son of Hermes, her one and only true friend, Luke Castellan. Her smile crept into a frown, or a cross to a smile and a frown. She hadn't even said goodbye to him. The last time they met personally was when Luke poisoned _Her_ tree, and when she almost killed _him_ at "The Battle at Mt. Tamalpais".

She didn't say goodbye to him...She remembered the time she joined the Hunt to run away from the prophecy...and from harming Luke. Remorsefully, she remembered the time she sacrificed herself to save Annabeth, Grover...and Luke.  
But most of all, she remembered the oddly-sized statue pinning her to the ground of Mt. Olympus at The Last Battle of The Titan's War. She remembered how she had to listen to what was happening inside, and nearly crying from the unhappy moment. She had to let her best friend kill himself to save the entire world.

A frown took the place of the smile.

Thalia couldn't run anymore. The depressing and miserable thoughts rising inside of her, wanting to break the surface and release her true feelings.** She couldn't escape.

She didn't say goodbye...

She didn't know what possessed her to fling her cabin door open, or what took over her enough to dart away from everyone and everything. Not stopping, and not looking back, Thalia made a mad dash to the forest. Once she was in, she never peered behind her to look for anyone. Once she reached the "Usual Spot", the spot where her and Nico sat content with their lives, she leaned her back against the tree, willing herself to drop on the ground. Before she could check if anyone was around, a single tear escaped, and her true feelings were bubbling intensely inside. She wanted to bawl her eyes out, but she held it in, just like how she held it in when He died...

Crumpling onto the forest earth, she hugged her knees and small tears escaped again. She didn't remember the last time she cried emotionally, but she did remember the shoulder she had cried on- Luke's.

The thought made her wince. All she wanted now was him back, and the memories once again returned, mocking her relentlessly. The memory ofhis death irked her the most.

**_The edge of the knife is choosing it's team. The start of the threat...is that I'm not asleep._**

The monsoon of memories came back again to her, and the memory of Luke-brave, inspiring Luke- sparked her to shed another single tear. The next memory she knew was a tall and lean figure taking her into his arms, wrapping them around the fragile form of Thalia. They had known each other for a long time, but this was just a week into getting to know each other. There she sat, the daughter of Zeus, the Lieutenant of Artemis, hugging this figure.

Her one and only true living friend.

* * *

"Anyone want to grab lunch?" Nico announced. Four demigods were sprawled around the "Usual Spot"***, two holding hands, and another wishing to hold the girl's hand next to him.

Percy and Annabeth sat up holding hands. "We can't," Annabeth said, holding a blush and a smile. "Me and Annie have a date in an hour," Percy said.

_Gag_, Thalia and Nico said to themselves. Percy and Annabeth were getting more out-of-character each passing day, since their love was, in fact, blinding.

Thalia sat up. "Well, you don't want to be late, you annoying lovebirds! Go on, shoo! Shoo!" Thalia said, waving the two. Annabeth shrugged, stood up, and helped Percy up. They held hands as they walked out of the forest.

Standing up, Nico proceeded to yell, "No sex, okay?" Thalia smiled at Nico's sense of humor. He saw his chance. He stood up, and turned towards Thalia, offering his hand. "Well, do you want to go?" he said, smiling. Thalia didn't hesitate, nodding her head. She took his hand, and Nico took that as a cue to dash out of the forest with Thalia in tow. He dragged her past the Big House, across the lawn, past the border of Camp, and onto the dirt road. "We're sneaking out?" Thalia yelled at Nico. He ignored the question, and thrust his left hand in front of him.

Literally out of the shadows appeared a black-no, a Phantom Black Pearl-Audi R8. "Of course," Thalia muttered, "A car that isn't even in America yet." Letting go of Nico's hand, she dashed into the passenger's seat, knowing that her driving was literal suicide. Nico dove into the driver's seat, started the ignition while Thalia was still staring at the interior, and spun onto a highway. Before Thalia could scream, put her seat belt on, or curse, the car jolted to a stop in front of a New York City bookstore "Barnes and Noble". _(A/N: mind you, I don't own this place!)_ Thalia stared at the store from inside the car. Normally, it would take one hour to get from Long Island Sound to the middle of New York City, unless your driver is hyped upagain on drugs.

The said driver stepped out of the vehicle and opened Thalia's door, once again lending a hand. Thalia was forced to take it, and before she blinked, they were inside the bookstore, sitting at a café table. Nico had let go of her hand, and he was leaning on his arm, staring at Thalia.

Thalia muttered something, and smacked Nico. "What are we doing here?" Thalia whispered, not wanting to disturb people. Nico looked up. "We're going to have fun, that's what." His seductive tone confused Thalia, but she put her game-face on.

Shrugging, Thalia looked at Nico, and asked, "Well, what are we supposed to do? It's a bookstore. Not a playground for two dyslexic kids." He smirked playfully, and pulled a shadow gray laptop out. Don't ask where it came from, you probably already know. It was the same laptop as the one he got in the package. He flipped it open, typed some odd keys, and silently showed the screen to her.

She leaned towards the screen, and she gasped at what he showed her. It was the website, the one she was on a week ago, when she was at temporary camp and stole Artemis' laptop. It was exactly as she saw it, with ancient Greek scrawled where the English was supposedto be. She pointed nervously at the screen, and asked Nico, "How'd you find this website? I...I know this website."

Nico gasped. "No way. No way. Did you read the story where-" he was stopped by another smack from Thalia. "No stupid, I was on this website for work purposes, not entertainment!" she said loudly. "And besides I didn't have a chance to read anything," she said, shrugging into her café chair.

Nico took a hint, and wanted to impress Thalia. He took the laptop back while Thalia began watching. He was going to show her the one fan fiction he worshipped religiously, the one where he and Thalia were to fall in love. It was one of the first ones he read. In a hushed tone, he read the first chapter to her, and immediately something struck Thalia. While Nico was brainwashed by the words of the fan fiction appropriately titled "Forbidden Love", she had seen the worst outcome of this situation.

The fan fiction was simple-_Guy falls in love with girl, girl is forbidden to love anyone, guy kills girl with a knife because she __doesn't love him, and_...the end. Something so simple, yet so...powerful.

Thalia took Nico by the shoulders and nearly lifted him out of his seat. "You know what this means?" she yelled at him. He shook his head, and Thalia put him down. While Nico was recuperating from his surprise attack, Thalia turned the laptop towards her. She read the title and saw the category it was under, and stared in disbelief. She quickly memorized the title in English and took Nico once more out of his chair by the hand. Nico didn't have a chance to turn a shade of red, because Thalia was dragging him to the nearest search computer.

Dizzy, Nico stood next to Thalia, who was violently typing up the name she found. After a few tries, she once again took Nico's hand and took a few turns in a maze of stocked shelves. She was running so fast, there were tears in her eyes, but that didn't stop her. Snaking her way through the store, she finally made it to the entrance of another department. The floor was littered with toys, picture books, and little kids. Thalia did not mind them, and instead leaped over them, with Nico still holding on. They dramatically made it to the other side of the children's section, and before the two could run into a wall, they came across a normal bookshelf, titled "Children's Series".

Lined on the shelves of the bookshelf were seven books, all differently colored, but bearing the same series' name. Thalia stopped to catch her breath and to look up at the towering shelves. Nico also looked up, and he couldn't stop staring at the shelves.

Thalia let go of Nico, leaving him breathing heavily and standing in literal shock. He didn't even realize that Thalia let go. She walked up to the sturdy shelf, easily holding roughly fifty books. Staring at it, she got the chance to see the names of the books.

The name stood out.

_**Percy Jackson & The Olympians.**_

**_Warning: I'm sorry for boring some of you people with talk about this _****_"Kingdom Hearts". But if you don't want it to be boring...play the _****_game, and you'll find these Author Notes amusing..._**

**This reached 3,ooo words! But, probably a 1,000 from this Author's Note. x)**

**_A/N: I'm really happy about this chapter! Climactic, as I call it. It _****_always seems longer in my head. I also added depth and emotion with _****_the pranks, emotional time, and the game. It took me FOUR tries to get _****_this up because FF was annoying me. It kept deleting, and not helping _****_me, and not saving... And I was supposed to get this up Thursday, then _****_I tried FRIDAY, then I tried Monday, but it was Labor Day & I had to _****_go do some work. (ironic, huh?)_**

**_And I know that at least ONE of you lives in America (I know I do xD) _****_so when did you start school/or when are you starting school? I know _****_New York schools started today, and some peeps start tomorrow, and the _****_lucky people start Thursday. Y'know, this is an appropriate time for _****_someone down there..._**

**_And yes, I am so low that I introduced not only Fan Fiction _****_world...but book world. Don't shoot me...I've got pah. Yes, pie, but _****_with "a" and "h"._**

**_And one time I went to B&N (as mentioned here) and I saw the whole _****_shelf lined with PJO books. It was the whole series, plus the movie-_****_edition of TLT (cause the cover is smexy.) and the Ultimate Guide, _****_Demigod Files, aand the JOURNAL. Yes, the journal. _****_Y a y for it's popularity. x)_**

**_Also...I missed #Lerman as a trend on Twitter. So did Taylor who is a _****_hardcore fan btw; I was so pissed I missed it. Y a y for #LoganLerman._**

**_I have to go leave now. To college. Sad, I know. Freshman. So thanks _****_for reading, you deserve a cookie. I'll Be back maybe on weekends and _****_possibly holidays. I'll try my hardest. Oh, and songs are now playing _****_role in this. See, I used the song mentioned above, and I'm about to _****_use...two more I believe._**

**_Notes *_**

**_* Okay, the game is actually a game that my friend taught me. She went _****_to summer camp, and they taught it to her. Sorry if I described the _****_game horribly. . _****_Oh and the "She is geewwd part" was parodied off of SoraXMe4Ever's _****_"What Sora Wants for Christmas" video on YouTube ("Ahh. Yes...Lettuce _****_is geewwd.") _****_I'm starting to notice that I'm such a nerd about SoraXMe4Ever! I _****_don't have a crush on her. But she's awesome. :)_**

**_** "Her true feelings". That reminds me of the now-ended anime "Shugo _****_Chara!" who watched it? just asking. I know, I'm a nerd. What animes _****_have you watched? Gosh, I sound like a nerd._**

**_*** "The Usual Spot". xD Another Kingdom Hearts II reference._**  
**_Extra note: The "No Sex" line...not mine(:_**

**_When I was writing the "emotional" scene, I didn't want it too out-of-_****_character. A lot of people think Thalia Grace doesn't cry; but I know _****_that everyone in this entire world, strong or weak, brave or meek, _****_real or fake, have feelings. I learned a lot of that through Kingdom _****_Hearts (*wink wink* there's your hint to go ahead and play it)._**

**_SON OF A SMEXY BANANA;_**

**_I'm oober sorry I wasn't here before, as I said before, it wasn't _****_working. And, I would like to start replying to reviews in the next _****_chapter. _****_And...I think that's it..._**

**_¡WAIT!_**

**_"Looks like my summer vacation is... _****_O v e r."  
_****_-Roxas; I love this dude, cause even when his other self's memory (of _****_Kairi) that manifested itself into Xion is dying in his arms, and HE _****_practically killed her, and he basically LOVES her...he still asks _****_about the sea-salt ice cream._**

**_B i r t h By S l e e p! It's out today!  
_****_And, my friend Taylor, aka the owner of this email and the hardcore _****_Lermaniac, she's getting the PSP bundle, since she didn't have a PSP _****_and she wanted to get Birth by Sleep, and so...she's getting the _****_Limited Edition BBS PSP & Birth by Sleep! -envy- O.e_**

**_End of Kingdom Hearts Outburst._**

**_Bye wonderful readers and sorry for my annoyingness, spacing out, and _****_grammar mistakes. I do not own Percy Jackson & The Olympians, all my _****_random Kingdom Hearts moments, the song "Exhibition (Epoison) by _****_Falling Up, Barnes and Noble, or ANYTHING mentioned that is not mine. _****_The idea is now half-mine. 'kay, thanks._**

**_-CL (for some strange and unknown reason, I labeled it CP. No idea. _****_Maybe for Cup Cake. I don't know. Apology accepted? Thanks. x3)_****_Reviews are highly appreciated; I would love to get to know you guys. _****_PS. (I know, I'll shut up. But the Masquerade FanFic, it is by . _****_I highly recommend it. And if you haven't noticed yet, my _****_PJO phase is wearing off, and once in a while a KH fan fic will be put _****_up. Don't be sad, I'll ALWAYS be writing something PJO.)_**

**_9.7.10_**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

They stood in awe at the shelf in front of them. There it stood- about fifty copies of the same seven books. It both seemed humorous, and deathingly frightening to the two who stood staring. Nico was silently screaming in his head, "Why. Oh why. I didn't do anything wrong..." He got down to his knees. "I'm sorry to whoever-you-are for killing that one persistent cat that clawed at my shoe, and for stealing the last cookie from the cookie jar; I'm so sorry..."

Thalia ignored Nico. She stood next to him, silently gaping at the shelf. _This is truly where my life ends,_ she thought to herself. Another teenager joined them in front of the bookshelf, except she didn't understand what was going on with the teens. She pulled out the book on the end, epically titled "The Last Olympian", and began flipping through the pages.

Nico looked up from the floor which he had been staring depressingly at. He could tell that the girl had read the series before just by looking at her and the way she smiled whenever she passed a certain page. She moved her brown hair away from her face, and sat cross-legged next to a crumbling Nico.

Thalia got on her knees, and crawled towards the girl. "Hey there," Thalia began. Nico looked at her in that way again, and he knew she was improvising. The brown-haired girl looked up with her white glasses and wide eyes. She had to take in what she saw: electric-blue eyes, cropped and short black hair, with a silver headband.

The observer's glance traveled to the boy gawking at her, and she began to observe him. All in all, she started summing up a far-fetched conclusion based off of dark hair, dark eyes, and the darkest aura in the world. Only a son of death would have that aura and pull it off so nonchalantly.

"You're...you're..." she peeked at the book she held in her hand, cracked open and prepped to begin reading.

"No way," she whispered chillingly.

Thalia and Nico had to force their heads up to look at the girl who just stood up. The girl's glasses cast an eerie shadow over her eyes, while she held a wavering finger pointed at the two kids on the floor.

"You're Thalia Grace," she whispered confidently. Thalia stood up swiftly, as if rehearsed. She snapped her fingers.

"I am not Thalia Grace," she hazardly whispered. It seemed as if Thalia had forced the words out, keeping quiet just in case. Nico could see that Thalia was nervous, judging by her shakiness. The Mist seemed to be working on the girl, but, persistent as she was, she continued her rant.

"Nico...Nico di Angelo," she called out.

Nico just looked down. Under his mop of hair, he began to grin in that evil way of his. He understood what was happening.

_Two may play at this game._

He rose from his eerie spot. Thalia looked over, bewildered at his actions. "Yes..." Nico said. He lifted his head and continued, "I'm Nico di Angelo, and this is my friend Thalia Gra-". Cut short by a kick to the bad place by Thalia, he had to mutter out, "Thalia...Grace."

Thalia stood over the collapsed form of Nico. She stepped over him, and began to question the girl. She obviously knew who Thalia and Nico were, and possibly knew the rest of the demigods. "Who are you, where are you from, and how do you know about me and Nico?" she interrogated.

The girl with the white glasses answered, "Hm. Never thought you would ask." She held her hand out.

"Hayley Sycamore. Like the tree. Place of origin: New York City. Demigod at your service!"

Thalia knew she wasn't a demigod. She sighed rather obnoxiously. Thalia kneeled next to Nico.

"Place of origin should be unknown if she thinks she's a demigod," Thalia whispered discreetly.

Hayley crouched alongside and whispered, "It's true! I'm a daughter of Athena, and I would totally date..." she paused and looked out in the distance. "Percy Jackson," she finished, pleased with herself.

Thalia and Nico shot up. "Don't say his name!" Nico quietly shouted. His voice was a little off-pitch, but all-in-all, he was normal.

"Why? He is my boyfriend. Well, on role play he is..." Hayley said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Role...?" Thalia wondered. "Never mind. Hayley, how do you know this stuff?" Thalia asked eagerly.

Hayley laughed. "Durr. You're standing in front of it. I'd think you know the story of you guys' lives!"

"Elaborate..." Nico waved her on.

Hayley snickered. She'd obviously prided herself in being the founder of some "Percy Jackson" fan club somewhere with oblique purposes. "Well, you know the jazz. You guys fought against evil in the form of Kronos, and you defeated him, and Percy and Annabeth lived happily ever after! Except, Annabeth dies in my world, so that I may live happily ever after with Percy Jack-"

"Stop saying his name!" Thalia said while covering Hayley's mouth. "You might attract..."

"...monsters? Oh, sorry. I'll shut up," Hayley replied. Thalia released her. She didn't know if Hayley's knowledge would actually help them or kill them.

"Alright. Since you're the only one that knows of us..." Thalia began.

"Oh no. There's A LOT more people that know," Hayley continued.

"WHAT?" Nico and Thalia said in unison. Hayley just nodded.

"Oh yeah. There was a movie that came out, but to me, I thought it was a disappointment compared to the books. Hell, Rick Riordan didn't even watch it," Hayley finished.

"MOVIE?" Nico yelled.

"Wait, who's this Rick Riordan dude?" Thalia asked.

Hayley faced her. "...He wrote the books. He's basically your average stalker if he knows you guys' secret."

Thalia took Nico and Hayley's hands. This was the second time in a day that she had to drag a certain someone along with her. But she now had an annoying companion...

"Holy shit, this is awesome. THE," Hayley whispered, "Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo ARE WHISKING ME AWAY TO-" She gasped.

Thalia stopped. "YOU'RE TAKING ME TO CAMP HALF-BLOOD? DI IMMORTALES, THIS IS SO COOOL!" Thalia gripped Hayley's wrist.

"There's no way in Hades that we'd take you to camp. Never. We just have to...hold you captive, so to speak," she said.

"NO WAY. HELD CAPTIVE...BY Thalia Grace...HOOOLY SHIT," Hayley swore. Thalia honestly didn't want to have annoying Hayley tag along. She had enough problems to try and fix Nico's emotional troubles, and she had to report back to Olympus. She now knew for sure that they knew.

A/N:

Permission to shoot?

Permission granted.

TEH LOST HERO! IT'S EPIC SHIT. This story, by the way, will not be affiliated in any way with the plot of The Lost Hero. I'm sorry, but that just will mess up my plot. I apologize for the very very tardiness. Every time I would comment on something here, I would be like, "Damn, I have to update!" So again, I apologize. It's been months. And if you don't believe me, there's a list of my reasons in my New updates section on by bio. Hey, college is treating me like crap, I'm sorry! Gomenasai...

This story MIGHT be put on hold, since I have like no idea what to do with this...Ideas, maybe?  
Sorry for the grammar mistakes, this was made in a russhhh!

-CupcakeLerman; Peace Lermaniacs.

december 18, 2010;

[it's been what, three months? awwh.]


	7. Chapter 7

**Not Asleep.**  
by CupcakeLerman  
[still in danger of being "in hiatus"!]

dedicated to **MindBender10 **for being so enthusiastic! You're like my #1 fan!

* * *

_Chapter 7._

"Hey, Nico, can you please speed it along? I really want to see where you're keeping me—uh, y'know—hostage!"

Hayley was propped in the backseat of Nico's new Audi R8, with him driving and Thalia taking shotgun. They all massaged their temples as Hayley droned on and on about how much of a "crush" she had on Thalia and Nico. The three were currently speeding on the local streets of New York—the not so crowded ones, thank the gods. Hayley was in the middle of explaining why she loved the book series, when Thalia quickly spun around and faced the mortal.  
"Hey. Remember, _muggle_: no secrets. You spilled all your secrets, so don't keep anything. And especially don't say anything to your preppy little fan-club." Her eyes were glowing a silvery blue, frightening Hayley a little.  
"Okay, okay, I won't mention anything."  
Thalia sat back down, satisfied. "Thank you for complying with us."  
"If..." Hayley started, as Thalia groaned.  
"If Nico kisses me."

At that second, the tires screeched to a halt as the R8 made tire marks on the asphalt. Several other cars and their drivers cursed at the phantom black car, yelling at its driver. Its driver, Nico, pushed open the driver's door, proceeded to slam it, forcefully pried open the backseat door, and took Hayley by the wrists gently, but forcefully. He gave her a menacing look, one that'd make anyone run for their money. His dark eyes glittered slightly, causing Hayley to shiver. Nico meant business.  
"Listen, Hayley," he said in a concerning yet calming voice. "This isn't your usual game of hide and go seek. We could end up losing the battle—all of us. Think about it. Your favorite characters. Dying."  
Hayley's eyes widened as he continued. "We're going to end up dying if you don't pull your act together, sit in the back of this stupid car, and shut up. So please do it. Do it for me," Nico whispered.  
She heard his every word and stared at Nico. Slowly, she pulled her wrists free, and sat back down, quietly and staring at the front of her.  
"Thank you," Nico said.  
He stepped away from the door and slammed it shut, making Hayley slightly wince. The surrounding drivers were really pissed now, especially that this was a one-way street. Swears and honking could be heard from several blocks down. To them, Nico just lifted his middle finger.

"Nico, get back in the car before we cause a scene," Thalia whispered through Nico's open window. "We are kind of notorious at that, if you didn't know."  
Nico delayed going into the car, for he had the strong gut feeling that something was coming. Something sadly powerful, but happily far enough that they could make it if they hurried. His hand was laying on the doorhandle, and in a moment, he flung the door open and stepped on the gas pedal as if to make a getaway. Thalia and Hayley stared at Nico's sudden burst of willingness to leave.  
"Nico, what the hell's wrong with you?" Thalia yelled at him.  
"I thought you were the one who wanted to get out of here so fast!" Nico retailiated quickly. Hayley sat still and quiet in the background, silently whispering to herself, _What did I get myself into—?_  
"If you must know," Nico asserted. "We are being followed."

Thalia looked at Nico in disbelief. "Wait. Why? I thought we'd lose anyone pursuing us—"  
"Thalia, we're two powerful half-bloods. No R8 can outrun what we're running from."  
"And what exactly are we running from?" Thalia wondered.  
For a moment, Nico paused to look at his cousin Thalia. Her blue eyes were in literal shock, something Nico might've never seen in his life. He knew he had to take authority and guide Thalia, acting as the older and more wiser figure in this equation.  
Nico sighed deeply. "We've been followed our whole life from this force we can't see or hear...or at least didn't stop to hear."  
Thalia was taking in what he was saying and processing what was going on. Hayley, however, was already up and ready, knowing what was happening.

"...You guys...didn't know your lives were being broadcasted to the world, did you?" she asked from the back.  
Thalia realized the answer. "No. No, we haven't."  
"Exactly. We have to make our way back to Camp Half-Blood and warn Chiron soon, before this gets out of hand," Nico said. He stepped harder on the pedal, forcing the R8 to reach its inner limits and surpass 80 miles per hour. Deep inside his interior thoughts, unknown to the two girls in the car, he was battling the deepest thoughts and horrible renditions he felt forced to do, as specified in that one story he read on those many nights. Kill.  
Hayley was clutching the back of Nico's seat just to hang on. Hayley couldn't believe these turn-of-events. She was just being dropped off at the bookstore by her parents—who, she had to explain this to much later. Then, she met Thalia and Nico, gaped a little bit, and was now overiding the speed limit in a car so expensive, she didn't feel like even siting on the plushy leather.  
"What? No, nonononono. Nico, we're driving our butts to the Empire State Building! We need to tell them first!" Thalia argued stubbornly. She almost tried gripping the steering wheel.  
Nico swerved to avoid incoming traffic. "What are you, crazy? We need to get to Camp Half-Blood, tell Chiron and the others, and then we'll Iris Message Mt. Olympus!"  
Thalia strongly disagreed. "Nico! I think I'd rather place my first priority trust in the gods, and not some amateur rookie demigods. They'd know what to do!"

Nico tried death-glaring Thalia. He felt so conflicted fighting with her when all he wanted was for her to feel the same way about him that he felt for her. "The gods can wait! I think they need to know first."

"Oh, heck no! They_ deserve_ to know; after all, the whole damn reason I am here is to save your ass."

"My amazing_ ass_ does not need your help, and I think we should go to camp first, and I think that's what we're doing."

"Oh heck no! Turn around and let me out, so I'll walk-"

"WILL YOU TWO_ STOP_ IT?" Hayley screamed from the backseat. Thalia and Nico actually turned to acknowledge the girl's outburst. Hayley, however, looked on the brink of tears.

"You guys are my heroes. I can't believe I'm meeting you for the first time, and you're quarreling over some stupid dispute! So please, just suck it up, and drive to the Empire State Building, Nico, because Thalia's right."

Thalia had a look of victory plastered on her face. "Ha," she said. Nico had a slight pout creeping on his lips. It wasn't just a _pout_ creeping on his lips, but a snicker escaped him. His expression turned darkly, unknown to Thalia and Hayley until—

CRR-ASH.

Thalia only had time to blink before the car impacted with a large pine tree. Hayley had smacked her forehead against Nico's seat, but it only gave her a major headache. Nico, of course, was spared, and only had a feeble scratch on his cheek from Thalia.

"Nico! What's wrong with you?" Thalia screamed at a unwavered Nico. He just sat back in his seat and sighed loudly.

"I didn't really like this car anyways," he muttered.

Thalia slapped her palm on her forehead, and checked the back of the car to check on Hayley. She was rubbing her forehead where she hit the seat, muttering obscenities. "You okay?" Thalia asked.

Hayley looked to Thalia. "Never better. I've been in car crashes a lot, I don't know, I'm just like IMMUNE to them." She rubbed her forehead, which was aching tremedously.

Meanwhile, Nico allowed the car to melt into the shadows. Itself became a dark shadow, only to drop its three passengers onto the ground. They had unprecariously dropped themselves off in the middle of the forest, and it was all going according to a certain person's plan. He grinned to himself and looked to Hayley.

"I'm sorry," he truthfully apologized.

Thalia stood to brush herself off. She pulled Nico to his feet, brushing him off as well, and lured Hayley to stand despite her head ringing. Thalia took note of her surroundings.

"It could be worse," she concluded. They were surrounded for miles around by trees—all coincidentally pine trees—in every direction. She estimated it'd take nearly days for them to walk out of the forest _alive_ and sane.

"Let's start walking," the leader of the group said. Thalia lead a monotonous Nico and trailing Hayley. She climbed over uprooted roots and vicarious carcasses while the two hikers would trip and stumble over every branch and twig. Thalia was fed up by the time the two had increased headaches and countless bruises. Thalia just groaned from the distance she'd have to trek with two idiots.

"I'm_ pretty_ sure we've walked in a circle at least five times," Hayley impatiently muttered. Her previous headache disappated momentarily before being replace by a knew found one: Thalia and Nico's constant bickering.

"You know," Thalia stated. "I think she's right. Nico's idiot self brought this upon us, so blame him."

Nico swerved to face Thalia. "Don't look at me! So I crash the car, it's not like we needed it!"

Thalia pestered. "Shut up, do you see the situation we're in? Of course we needed it!" She avoided a pesky tree branch before continuing. "Why can't you just call up a new car anyways?"

"Hey, it takes a lot of energy calling for a car from the deep shadows. Be grateful I actually wanted to take you to lunch," Nico said.

"Oh yeah, thanks for that. It's like, eight in the evening, we're stranded in the middle of the forest, with this Hayley-Williams chick, and I didn't even have lunch," Thalia said.

"Hey, don't compare me to Hayley Williams!" Hayley yelled from behind the bickering duo. "I do not have orange hair!"

"I'm comparing you to Hayley Williams; deal with it." Thalia crossed her arms, obviously annoyed at her waste of time here.

Geez, these two are a lot nicer when I'm reading about them. Hayley was happy about the turn of events before, but all she wanted to do now was go home. She missed lying on her bed and reading one of those books, and imagining her life with the books' characters.

Thalia sensed Hayley's feeling of going home, and her leadership qualities kicked in. She was used to this, seeing as many of her newbie recruits in the Hunt would want to return home. She trailed a little behind Nico, until she caught up with Hayley.

"Hayley. Hey. It's—uh, me, Thalia. Thalia, your favorite character from the series?" she played cautiously.

"My favorite is Nico," Hayley murmured quietly. She was beginning to dislike the world she was living in, and wanted to go back to dreaming about a different reality.

"Yeah, I didn't like pine trees that much either. Thanks for confiding in me," Thalia said sarcastically. She marched up to a dark-aura filled Nico, attempting to strike conversation. She didn't know she'd end up apologizing her guts to Nico.

"I'm sorry about fighting with you earlier. It's just—It's not something you'd do, something nice for someone. For me. Why, again?" she asked. She almost dared to look at Nico, who was just staring at the ground.

"You're special to me. That's all."

In some cases, Thalia would expect a whole speech laid out, but she happily accepted this development.

After mindlessly treking through the uncharted wilderness, it began to get a little more frustrating on the trio.

"I'm now SURE we passed that tree ten times. Literally," Hayley complained.

"Nico, she's right. I don't know if you're...leading us somewhere? But just hurry up, it's probably already nine thirty," Thalia told him.

Meanwhile, Nico had just been taking note of the ground patterns. His rather over-worked brain and processed that they had only passed this way three times, and that was a sign that the labyrinth they had accidentally crashed in was coming to an end. He didn't know what exactly they'd find, but he was hoping it would go along the lines of safety.

Before Thalia, Nico, or Hayley could speak anymore, something from behind covered their faces—a rag? Whatever mysterious substance lingered on the rag was apparently being inhaled by the three teenagers, who could do nothing but attempt to scream in frustration, all except one. He smirked quietly to himself, acknowledging that maybe his plan would work out after all.

—- - -

A/N: That was surprising for me O.O

It's turning out so well, and Nico is so...different, shall I say?

The gaps are becoming a little less bad, but I'm not sure if it will completely improve (like, once a week). So unless I start liking Percy Jackson EVEN MORE [ahem, new BOOK.], this will continually drag out a bit. So...yeah. Thanks for reading; reviews are kind :3

so i was supposed to change the paragraph form, but then it was not working for me. :P  
oh and hey im sorry for any mistakes. i incredibly rushed this. i didnt even check over -_- and it ended short. OK. have fun i'll edit later.

—- C u p cake Le r m an -—


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